#MiCasaEsJimin: Supporting at-risk young people in Mexico City through housing, community, and empowerment programs
Another month, another Bangtan member's birthday, and another chance to spread positivity in the world! This year, ARMY voted to support Shelter & Orphanages for Jimin's birthday and so the flash fundraiser will raise money for Refugio Casa Frida!
About the Issue
In Mexico City, many young people are homeless due to their families rejecting them after learning of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified this issue as it becomes harder to stay in the closet during lockdown, with Yaaj México (a LGBTQ+ rights group) reporting that cases have increased almost 5 times over. Furthermore, the youths can be reluctant to reach out to the authorities for help due to fear of causing consequences for their relatives.
The pandemic has also caused LGBTQ+ people to lose their sources of income, increasing homelessness in the community. Other at-risk groups are LGBTQ+ migrants, as they have more difficulties accessing support systems, and people living with a HIV-positive diagnosis. Survivors of ECOSIG also need assistance — ECOSIG is the acronym used in Mexico to describe structural violence against the LGBTQ community. This can include conversion therapy, correctional rape/sexual assault, suppression of education and youth groups, and more. Young people who have gone through these events are also more vulnerable to homelessness.
About the Organisation
Casa Frida is a refuge in Mexico City that was set up in May 2020, at the start of worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns. The shelter aims to build a safe space for LGBTQ+ people expelled from their homes, drug users, sex workers, persecuted and forcibly displaced people, and survivors of structural violence. The organisation provides rescue, accommodation, and comprehensive health care to enable dignified socio-economic and cultural reintegration.
As a part of their operations, Casa Frida provide rescue and housing to women and the LGBTQI+ community exposed to violence, provide accommodation, security, and food to drug users and refugees, offer a psychosocial program to strengthen self-affirmation, empowerment, and community participation, and design a personalized and multidisciplinary plan for successful discharge.
How to Donate
Your donation will help the organization provide immediate support to people in need.
Visit the donation page created for this fundraiser:
https://bit.ly/MiCasaEsJiminCampaign
Donate any amount (minimum of $1).
Take a screenshot of your donation to submit it to our tracking form (cover up your personal information).
Form Link: https://bit.ly/MiCasaEsJiminForm
Share this campaign on social media to help promote it!
To learn more about the campaign: https://www.oneinanarmy.org/current-campaign
We are completely aware that not everyone is able to contribute through a monetary donation, but your support, in any form, is significant to our campaign. For example, you can share our SNS posts to help increase the reach and visibility of the org amongst your followers. Find us on social media here: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit, and Amino.